Guns

California Democrats Pushing for Stricter Stolen Gun Reporting Law

California Democrats and Republicans are fighting yet again – this time over stolen guns.

A bill proposed by Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, a Democrat from Concord, aims to ensure that gun owners be mandated to report their firearms missing within 48 hours of actually noticing that they’re missing. The bill, SB1366, was backed by both the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the California Police Chiefs Association before passing this past Monday with a 23-14 vote.

It will now go to the assembly.

Predictably, Republicans are not especially fond of SB1366 and all that it entails. In their view, forcing recently burglarized individuals who are busy with more pertinent things to be responsible for reporting their firearms as missing is counterintuitive. They also maintain that it’s not realistic for certain people, particularly those who keep their guns in remote locations, to be fully aware of when a particular gun goes missing.

Furthermore, they point out that the 48-hour required window may actually drive away folks who would have otherwise reported their weaponry missing, but opt not to because they realize that the time limit has lapsed.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Republicans’ strongest point, that last bit about the proposed bill actually potentially being a deterrent for reporting missing firearms, sways any votes as this process moves along.

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